Equity LifeStyle hires former director as president

Since October 2005, Mr. McAdams has been the owner, chairman and CEO of a vacation membership and motor home park business called Privileged Access L.P., which leases about 24,100 sites from Equity LifeStyle at 81 properties. Mr. McAdams will remain the 100% owner of Frisco, Texas-based Privileged Access and a board member, but is stepping down as chairman and CEO.

Mr. McAdams was a board member of Chicago-based Equity LifeStyle from January 2004 to October 2005, when he left to create Privileged Access, resigning from the board to avoid potential conflicts because Privileged Access "expects to have substantial business relationships with (Equity LifeStyle)," according to an Oct. 17, 2005, Equity LifeStyle press release.

In a news release Monday, Equity LifeStyle says the company recognizes that Mr. McAdams may have a conflict of interest in his new role since he still owns Privileged Access.

"To mitigate this potential conflict, Mr. McAdams will not be involved in the monitoring of the current contracts, or negotiation of future contracts, with Privileged Access on behalf of (Equity LifeStyle)," the company says in the news release.

Equity LifeStyle in the release also says it evaluated buying Privileged Access, but as a result of concerns about tax treatment of gross income from membership contracts, the REIT "believes the best strategic option available at this time was to bring Mr. McAdams to the company and continue to work with Privileged Access on initiatives such as flexible sales, whole ownership and combining certain overhead functions."

Equity LifeStyle also said Monday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it renegotiated terms of a lease with a Privileged Access subsidiary, the Thousand Trails private camping club, increasing the annual fixed rent Privileged Access pays to $22.2 million from $17.5 million, but eliminating a requirement for Privileged Access to pay a percentage of its membership-contract revenue. Equity LifeStyle also agreed to make a multi-million-dollar payment upfront to Privileged Access.

In bringing on Mr. McAdams, Equity LifeStyle's president and CEO Thomas Heneghan gives up the title president, but he remains CEO and his compensation won't change, according to the SEC filing.

Mr. McAdams is to be paid a base salary of $300,000 and may earn an annual bonus of up to three times his base pay, according to the filing.